Travel Tips for Everyone

Travel tips and tricks are good for the first time traveller, and the experienced one who might overlook something because it is so obvious. It is like telling a runner to make sure his/her shoes are tied - it is simple advice, but could dramatically change the success of his/her race. Before you, and your mind, go on vacation read these travel tips and tricks.

Hotel tips

• Bring written confirmation of your hotel reservation with you. If you did not receive a confirmation call the hotel a few days in advance to confirm your reservation and ask if they have a confirmation number.
• When staying in a hotel always use every means to lock the door from the inside, in case the hotel booked the same room for you and another guest and issued keys to both of you.
• When making a hotel reservation find out what the cancellation policy is.
• If your first choice hotel is booked, make a reservation at your second choice then call your first choice frequently to see if a room becomes available. Don't forget to cancel your previous reservation should your first choice become available.
• Make as many requests, such as non-smoking or high floor, for your hotel room as you would like. Although request are not guarenteed at least you will have the advantage over someone who did not make these requests.

Losing items

• Contact the airline immediately if you loose your airline ticket.
• Credit cards and traveller's cheques are the best forms of tender to carry since they can be cancelled and reissued. If you do carry cash, split it up and carry it in several places such as a zipped pocket and a purse or wallet.
• Carry a photocopy of your passport and credit cards in case you loose them. Also leave a copy at home with someone in case they need to help you from there.
• Before you go travelling, scan a copy of your passport, any visas, itinerary, T/C numbers etc. into a Word document and send it to your Hotmail account. That way if all is lost, all you have to do is find a computer with access to the Internet, and you can retrieve all the info.
• Bring with you medical and eyeglass prescriptions with you. If you have two pairs of eyeglasses take them both.
• If carrying a money belt, make sure you wear it under your clothes, otherwise you could easily lose it on a drive-by snatch.

Jet lag

• Fight the effects of jet lag by consuming plenty of non-alcoholic liquids, it will help you avoid dehydration.
• Drinking alcohol will make you dehydrated and you may feel the effects of jet lag more strongly.
• Once you arrive at your destination, try to stay awake until the local bedtime. Or take a quick nap and force yourself to wake up, so that you will avoid catching up on your sleep during the daytime.
• When you arrive try to get as much daylight as you can, this will help your body naturally adjust quicker to the time zone.

See also:
Travel guides—Find exciting destinations and hotels in the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean